Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Nicholas
could spend hours in his room playing.
His mommy thought it was wonderful when he finally became interested in playing
imaginatively with toys like a little boy should. Whenever she looked for him he was always
playing under his bed, which she found odd…but who was she to complain? He was quiet and happy and had left the video
games alone in favor of his LEGOS. That
was a win in her book.

One day while Nicholas was in his room he
drew a picture with a big circle in the center coloring it in bold strokes with
a black crayon. Dragons danced around
the hole shooting fire from their mouths and the sun shone down from the sky in
his picture. When he was done with it,
he quickly lost interest tossing it aside.

Later he crawled under his bed
to retrieve his Spiderman LEGO mini figure and noticed that it was lying on top
of the crumpled dinosaur drawing broken in half! His heart clenched in his chest and tears
started to well in his eyes as he grabbed for his favorite. To his shock when he pulled the mini figure
away from the paper he discovered it was intact. There were no missing parts after all, but
how could that be?Perplexed he quickly pulled the crumpled
drawing from under the bed.Weird, he
must have imagined it.

He retrieved his
box filled with mini figures and decided to pretend the circle was a black hole
in space sucking everything in proximity into its depths.He dropped the soldier onto the black circle
and freaked out when it disappeared before his very eyes.He
quickly turned the sheet of paper over and shook it, and miraculously the
figure dropped out onto the floor.At this
point he was intrigued and ready to conduct some more experiments with his toys
when all of a sudden the figure began to twitch.At least he thought it moved!

At that very moment Mommy called him to
dinner. He didn’t want to EAT at a time
like this, but if he told anyone they would never believe him. They would think he was lying. Still he decided to drop a couple other
figures into the circle and quickly hid it under the bed until after supper. He was trying desperately to make sense of
it all. He was eager to finish supper
and return to his room to see what other surprises awaited him there.

After supper he discovered when he
retrieved his figures from the circle they had come to life. They literally walked around and talked to
him and to each other. They seemed
terrified of him at first because of his size, but then they realized that he
was their friend and encouraged him to enter into the circle with them. He was a bit afraid of what would happen if
he tried it. Certainly he couldn’t fit
inside the circle. It was small and he
was big. Instead he dipped his hand inside
the circle and was terrified when something sharp grabbed it and wouldn’t let
go. “Mommy!” he screamed hysterically. Mommy ran into the room horrified by the
bizarre site that met her eyes. Whatever was inside the drawing had ahold of
his hand and wouldn’t let go!

Nicholas’s
LEGO figures seemed to be jumping up and down and trying to tell her what to do
to help. Even though the whole
situation was beyond bizarre, she rushed to do their bidding. Quickly she gathered slices of cheese and
placed them on the black circle on the piece of paper. The cheese disappeared and released Nicholas’s
hand. She held him tightly as he sobbed
in terror completely overwhelmed by the entire experience. As she watched the LEGO mini figures transform
back into plastic toys, “she waited for someone to tell her what to do next.”

Here are the rules:

Your post must be dated February 23, 2013, or later.

Submissions must be 750 words or fewer. My story is 418 words.

Submissions must be fiction or poetry.

Your submission must use the following sentence as the LAST line: “She waited for someone to tell her what to do next.”

The speakeasy is for submissions written specifically for the grid. Please don’t submit an entry if you intend to showcase it to another blog link-up. Such posts are deleted without notice and you Ll be sucked into a black hole of internet nothingness.

Please don’t post long explanations before your post. We want your writing to be the star of the show. If you need to clarify anything, feel free to do so at the end.

The badge for your speakeasy #150 post is found in the sidebar. Add the code to the html view of your post before publishing.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

He told everyone who had asked that he was in a relationship so they would back off. He had even casually told her. He talked to her every chance he got. Women always threw themselves at him which irked the hell out of him. Not her though, she was different. She had shot him a “well good for you” look when he bragged about his girlfriend as if she couldn’t care less which only made him want her more. One day he would grow the balls needed to tell her she was the lucky one who had stolen his heart.

One night we played “Truth or Dare”. The drunker we got the more outrageous the dares became. Dares included everything from running down the street naked to asking the neighbor to borrow a sex toy. How I wished I hadn’t drank that bottle of vinegar! I have never been so sick in my entire life!Written for the Write Tribe 55 on Friday writing prompt.

Monday, February 24, 2014

“I’m telling
you Jon, if you want the lovely Clarice to notice you, you have to get in touch
with your feminine side.”Minutes later,
he emerged wearing heels, makeup, and a dress. “That wasn’t what I meant!”

For the Trifextra challenge this week, I am to write 33 words in addition to and preceding the following:

That wasn't what I meant.

So, to clarify, you write 33 words and then you tag on the five that we've given you. Our five come after your 33 for a grand total of 38.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

With pain etched across his features Ben
typed the letter, emptying all the pent up feelings he had kept guarded for so
long. He was tired of the lies and the
duplicity. He was tired of trying to be
someone he was not. He was tired of
being ridiculed for who he was. They
didn’t want a son who was artistic and gay.
They wanted a perfect athlete and a home town hero everyone wanted to
emulate. They wanted someone worthy of
their love that they could brag about at church. Instead they had gotten him.

As the sun set and the shadows fell he
printed out his final letter. He shut
down the computer one last time and quickly reread his last plea for understanding
and acceptance. With a sad and
determined resignation he loaded the gun he had bought last week, aimed, and fired
extinguishing all the hurt and frustration he had experienced his whole life
trying to live up to their ideal.

An hour later Ben’s parents arrived
home excited to see their only son. His
mother loved her baby no matter what direction he took with his life and encouraged
her husband to accept Ben for who he was.
A hard pill to swallow, but he did love his son. He just had to make a point of accepting him
as he was and showing him that he loved him no matter what. He planned to tell him as soon as he saw him
setting things right and starting their relationship fresh with more love and
understanding on his part. The
bottom line was that he loved his son, gay or not, and it was high time he told
him and started acting like it. To his horror, he was too late.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

After having so much fun writing "Counting Stars" for the Speak Easy #148 writing challenge, I continued the story with "According to Stars". Now I bring you the conclusion. Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. ♥

Katie’s breath caught as she took the
envelope from Parsons School of Design out of the mailbox. Ripping into the envelope with excitement she
quickly scanned its contents. She had
been accepted into the art program in Paris!
Paris! To study art in the city
of lights a short walk away from the Louvre is more than she could have ever
imagined in life!! She was thrilled to
her very core.

Her diamond engagement ring sparkled in
the sunlight bringing her crashing back to reality. Rob.
Oh dear God. She was engaged to
marry Rob! She had accepted his proposal
only because she never believed her dream of being an artist would become
reality. But now, her dream was coming
true. She could reach for the stars with
both hands. She could study art in
Paris! With that realization another
quickly came on its heels. She could
never marry Rob. That nagging doubt that
had plagued her since she had said yes and accepted the ring seemed validated
now. She had to follow her dream. It was her destiny. He simply wasn’t. This was the sign she needed. She cared about Rob, but now she wasn’t sure
if she even loved him if she could cast him aside so easily. Breaking off the engagement was the right
thing to do. She hated to break his
heart, but deep down she was sure he would understand.

Rob and Katie had been growing apart
since that night with Emily. It seemed
as if they were both going through the motions. He had been entertaining serious doubts
about going through with the marriage but had no idea how to break it off. He didn’t want to hurt Katie, but deep down
he couldn’t deny any longer how much he loved Emily, had always loved Emily. When she had finally told him about Paris,
it gave them both an easy out. They
parted as friends going their separate ways with no regrets. He had to find Emily. He had to tell her how he felt and see if she
would have him. He found
her that evening sitting on the end of the pier dangling her feet in the
water. She had always been there for him but lately
she had been avoiding him. He missed
her, really missed her and all of a sudden when he needed her most, there she
was just where he knew she would be. He
walked to the end of the pier and sat down, took off his shoes, and splashed
his feet in the water beside her.

“I heard you were a free man now” she said
with a small smile and a sideways glance. “Are you Okay?”

“Yeah, guess so. Things
are as they should be. Katie is living
her dream. She is happy. She would have never been truly happy if she
had settled for a life with me.” He smiled
back and gazed out over the water. “Remember
the last time we were here Emily?”

“Yeah, how could I possibly forget? It was quite the memorable night.” She smiled
feeling her cheeks grow warm.

“Are you sorry?” He didn’t look at her but
keep gazing out at the waves. He waited,
and when she didn’t answer immediately he looked her way.

A lone tear made its way down her face. She struggled with the words. She didn’t know how she could tell him, but
she knew she had too. It was now or
never. She couldn’t keep it from
him. Oh how she loved him, had always
loved him. She dreaded telling him. He would hate her, and she couldn’t bear it.

“No,
Rob. I am not really sorry. I have had days that I was, but I realize
that I’m really not. Everything happens
for a reason, and I have accepted that.”
She looked at her hands and the tears flowed faster now. She gazed into his eyes with
determination. “It was magical…I don’t
regret it. You gave me something
precious that night that I don’t regret one bit and I am sorry if you choose to
hate me, but I am pregnant. I am keeping
our baby whether you like it or not. I
have always loved you, and if I can’t have you I can at least have our baby.”

“Seriously, you’re pregnant?” he looked
deeply in her eyes and took her hands in his as she solemnly nodded. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her
passionately. The chemistry that sparked
between them was electric just as it had been that star filled night. “What would you say to counting stars
together for the rest of our lives?”

Her smile could have lit up the
night. “I think I would like that very
much. Are you sure?”

Taking her hand, he looked deeply into her
eyes. “I can’t think of anything that I
am surer of. Katie will be following her
dreams in Paris, and I have my dream here with you. I’ll love you forever Em.”

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

She stared at the blank screen and started
typing then immediately deleted the words she had written. That sounded
completely stupid.No one would want to
read that!Frustrated she tried again,
knowing that hours were stretching into days and days would soon be a whole week
since she last posted or wrote anything.Time worked that way and often got away from her.She quickly clicked over to the screen that
held all those brilliant souls who had already posted their entries.Over 20 people already with brilliant stories
and perfect grammar that hadn’t been stripped of their words like she had.Damn.Clicking
on one she was drawn into a journey into the writer’s imagination that awed
her.Back she went to the empty page in
Microsoft Word.Write something!She started again and again until it was time
to give up and go to work.

Depressed and forlorn, she wondered
how long she would be in this wordless funk.
She went to work even though she really didn’t want to go. She faced the onslaught of children
descending the cafeteria with a smile, because they deserved a cheerful
disposition. How bright and happy they
were! Their mood was contagious! For the first time in weeks they were bundled
up to go outside for recess. They had been doomed to endure indoor recess
for weeks on end. Damn the weather to
hell. What good was the snow if no one
could frolic in it? She welcomed their
hugs, felt rewarded by their smiles, and felt happy when one took her hand as
she led them to the nurse.

She returned to her computer at the end of the
workday to discover her addled brains had been freed from their shackles. The words flowed freely through her fingertips once again as she typed her latest story, publishing it with a sense of
satisfaction and glee that knew no bounds.
Her soul rejoiced once again.

• Your
response must be between 33 and 333 words.
Mine has 325 • You must use the 3rd
definition of the given word in your post. • The word itself needs to be
included in your response. • You may not use a variation of the word; it needs
to be exactly as stated above. • Only one entry per writer. • Trifecta is open
to everyone. If you are inspired, please
join us!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

“Don’t blame the
sinner.” the pastor said with reverence. “Every single being of the human race
has sinned at one time or another. We
must learn to forgive and cultivate peace.
Only then will we truly find the joy our heavenly father wants for each
of us. Let us pray…”

We sat in a middle pew between our parents
playing with the chess pieces of our game from home as the adults around us
bowed their heads in prayer. With a
sideways smile to my little brother we followed suit, bowing our heads as well,
fixing our most pious expressions on our amused faces. It would never do to make a disturbance in
church so Mama allowed us to bring the chess pieces with us so we could occupy
ourselves, keep quiet, and stay out of mischief. Even Mama secretly admitted that church could
be a boring place for kids while the pastor attempted to get his point across
to the congregation.

“Amen” we all said in unison. No one realized in the surrounding pews the
drama that was playing out between the chess queens and their subjects. They wove between the labyrinths of prayer
books and hymnals taking the pawns, bishops, and knights by surprise. The kings overlooked the action from above as
the war commenced. Strange how the
queens were once dear friends and their battalions friendly comrades only
moments before and now that the war had come they fought viciously and with
vigor planning secret strategies at every turn.

Our
imaginations took us on so many adventures into the world of the chess queens,
where everything was not as it seemed!! Within the sanctuary, on the wooden
pews, the chess pieces seemed to come alive.
One time a knight tried to assassinate the rebel queen and was met with
resistance, caught, and punished severally with instant death. Several times in our exuberance we were
greeted with the stern sideways glances of others. We turned angelic faces in the direction of
all which cast disapproving nods in our direction knowing Mama would be
embarrassed if anyone complained. If she
was embarrassed there would be hell to pay and a long lecture to be had when we
got home. At least we weren’t causing a real ruckus. Finally it was time for the closing
hymns. Interrupted in our play, we stood
each clutching a queen in one hand as we sang the hymn boisterously while Mama
hurriedly gathered the other pieces in a plastic bag and deposited it in her
purse, all without ever missing a beat. Stowed away and forced to get along, the chess
pieces ceased their war and proclaimed peace would reign until next time. Each chess queen winked resolving their differences
and was friends once more.